Arch swing-away stand

ABSTRACT

An arch swing-away mailbox stand having a pole mountable in the earth, and an arm including an arch mounted on the pole for swinging movement with respect thereto. A support is adjustably connected to the outer end of the arch for mounting one or more mailboxes thereon. The arch is pivotally mounted to the pole by a sleeve having an open end and a spaced closed end and arranged over the pole open end first. At least one plate connects the adjacent end of the arch to the sleeve. Three brackets, two arranged extending coaxially from the pole and the third arranged extending from the sleeve perpendicularly to and in a plane parallel with the other two brackets, have arranged extending between end portions thereof a pair of coiled tension springs arranged for biasing the arch toward a predetermined rest position. The arch construction of the arm permits, among other things, the arm to pass over snow banks, and the like.

[ May6,1975

[ ARCH SWING-AWAY STAND Cleon A. Schmidt, Box 34, R.F.D. 1, Glidden,Wis. 54527 [22] Filed: Sept. 12, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 396,370

[76] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl. 232/39; 232/38; 248/145 [51] Int. Cl B65d 91/00 [58] Fieldof Search 232/38, 39; 248/145 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,411,867 4/1922 Munson 232/39 1,440,043 12/1922 Wright 248/1451,639,722 8/1927 Clark 248/145 1,750,136 1/1931 Dalrymple 248/1451,812,689 6/1931 Farrar 248/145 X 2,562,021 7/1951 Dotten 248/145 X2,931,611 4/1960 Watson.. 248/145 3,465,994 9/1969 Block 232/39 X3,497,078 2/1970 Nash 232/39 X 3,796,170 3/1974 Viera 248/145 X PrimaryExaminerRoy D. Frazier Assistant Examiner-Peter A. AschenbrennerAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Clarence A. OBrien; Harvey B. Jacobson [5 7ABSTRACT An arch swing-away mailbox stand having a pole mountable in theearth, and an arm including an arch mounted on the pole for swingingmovement with respect thereto. Asupport is adjustably connected to theouter end of the arch for mounting one or more mailboxes thereon. Thearch is pivotally mounted to the pole by a sleeve having an open end anda spaced closed end and arranged over the pole open end first. At leastone plate connects the adjacent end of the arch to the sleeve. Threebrackets, two arranged extending coaxially from the pole and the thirdarranged extending from the sleeve perpendicularly to and in a planeparallel with the other two brackets, have arranged extending betweenend portions thereof a pair of coiled tension springs arranged forbiasing the arch toward a predetermined rest position. The archconstruction of the arm permits, among other things, the arm to passover snow banks, and the like.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures PATH-11mm s IEUS Fig.

.llll'lll Ill/f ARCH SWING-AWAY STAND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to a swing-awaystand, and particularly to an arch swing-away mailbox stand.

2. Description of the Prior Art Mailbox supports are known which have agenerally horizontally extending arm mounted to swing in a horizontalplane. An example of such a support is shown in US. Pat. No. 1,645,768.One significant disadvantage of this prior art mailbox support, however,is that it has a linear, or straight, telescopingly adjustable supportarm. This support arm construction prohibits the arm from being bent soas to pass over snow banks, and the like, which are frequentlyencountered along the edge of a road in areas having a cold climate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a swing-away stand of simple, yet sturdy construction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a swing-awaystand permitting the use of an arm having an extent in the form of anarch.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an archswing-away mailbox stand having a horizontally adjustable mailboxsupport in combination with an arch arm construction.

These and other objects are achieved according to the present inventionby providing a stand having: a pole; an arm including an archterminating in a pair of ends; means for mounting a one end of the archon the pole for permitting swinging movement of the arch with respect tothe pole; and a support adjustably connected to the other end of thearch.

In a preferred embodiment of a stand according to the present invention,the arch is mounted on the pole by a sleeve having an open end and aspaced enclosed end, and arranged over the pole open end first. The oneend of the arch is connected directly to this sleeve as by at least oneplate arranged affixed to and extending between the sleeve and arch.

A plurality of brackets are advantageously provided for supporting apair of springs arranged for biasing the arch toward a predeterminedrest position. A first bracket is cantilever mounted on the sleeve, andthe second and third brackets are cantilever mounted on the pole and arearranged perpendicular to the first bracket and extending coaxially fromone another in a plane parallel to the plane of the first bracket. Onespring is arranged connected to and extending between free ends of thefirst and second brackets, and the other spring is connected to andarranged extending between the free end of the first bracket and a freeend of the third bracket.

Another advantageous feature of a stand according to the presentinvention is the provision of a hollow member or tube affixed to theother or outer end of the arch. The support may include a planarframework forming a platform, a cover affixed to the framework andhaving a planar extension arranged extending from the framework in aplane parallel to the plane of the framework for forming a snow guard,and a longitudinal member mounted on the framework andi fitljustablyarranged in the hollow member connected to the arch for attaching theframework to the arm formed by the arch.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partlycut away and in section, showing an arch swing-away mailbox standaccording to the present invention anchored in ground, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken generally along the line22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken generally along the line4-4 of FIG. 1, but with the relationship of some elements shown in adifferent position from FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 of the drawings shows anarch swing-away stand 10 according to the present invention. The standcomprises a pole 12 to which is swingingly mounted an arm 14 having anarch 16 terminating in a pair of ends 18 and 20. An arrangement to bedescribed below mounts arch 16 at end 18 thereof on pole 12 in such amanner that arch 16 is permitted swinging movement with respect to pole12. This swinging movement is, of course, about an axis defined by thelongitudinal extent of the pole. A support 22, which will be describedin detail below, is connected to the other end 18 of arch 16, andprovides a platform for a, for example, pair of mailboxes 24. It is tobe understood that although stand 10 is disclosed as especially intendedfor use as a mailbox stand, it may be used to support other suitablearticles as desired.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, arch 16 is swinginglymounted on pole 12 by a sleeve 26, which is advantageously provided witha circular cross section, having an open end 28 and a spaced enclosedend 30. As can be readily appreciated from FIG. 2 of the drawings,placement of sleeve 26 over pole 12 open end 28 first will result insleeve 26 rotating about the aforementioned axis of pole 12. Arch 16 isconnected to sleeve 26 as by a pair of plates 32 arranged affixed to andextending between sleeve 26 and end 18 of arch 16. These plates 32 havea shape in plan which conforms them along one edge to the shape of thearch and along another edge to the sleeve.

A bracket 34 is advantageously cantilever mounted on sleeve 26, and apair of brackets 36 and 38 cantilever mounted on pole 12. Brackets 36and 38 are arranged perpendicular to bracket 34, and extend coaxiallyfrom one another in a plane parallel to the plane of bracket 34. Aconventional coiled tension spring 40 is arranged connected to andextending between a free end of bracket 34 and a free end of bracket 36,while a spring 42 is connected to and arranged extending between thefree end of bracket 34 and a free end of bracket 38. Since spring 42,which may also be a coiled tension spring of a similar kind as spring40, may be substantially longer, as for example twice as long as spring40 because the probability of large deflection of spring 42 due toimpact on the outer end 20 of arch 16 from the right side of stand ismuch greater than from the left side thereof. This may be readilyunderstood when one considers that traffic in the United States and mostother countries moves on the right hand side of a roadway. Accordingly,chains 44 and 46 of lengths proportional to the lengths of springs 40and 42 connect the springs to the respective outer ends of brackets 36and 38. Preferably, chains 44 and 46 actually contact brackets 36 and 38at points slightly toward pole 12 from the extreme outer end of thebrackets. By this arrangement, arch 16 is biased toward a predeterminedrest position at which springs 40 and 42 are both in their undeflectedpositions. Any movement from this rest position will cause a deflectionof one of the springs and impart a restoring force to arch 16.

Referring now to FIG. 4 of the drawings, a tube or similar hollow member48 is attached to the end of arch 16 in a suitable, known manner, suchas by welding, to form a socket. Support 22 includes a planar framework50 forming the aforementioned platform, and a cover plate 52 having asubstantially planar portion arranged beneath framework 50 and a step 54passing by the side of the framework to a substantially planar extension56 which is arranged extending away from the frameowrk, pole, and archin a plane parallel to the plane of the framework to extendsubstantially forwardly of a mailbox to be mounted on the framework forforming a snow guard. This snow guard prohibits snow from being forcedup from below and into and onto mailboxes 24. A rod or similarlongitudinal member 58 is mounted on framework 50 and adjustablyarranged in hollow member 48 for attaching framwork 50 to arm 14.Longitudinal member 58 is secured in hollow member 48 as by aconventional bolt and nut 60 arranged in a selected one of holes 62 and64. Other holes (not shown) may be provided if desired. FIG. 1 showsbolt and nut 60 arranged in hole 64 of longitudinal member 58, whileFIG. 4 shows the same bolt and nut arranged in hole 62. A pair ofopposed holes are provided in hollow member 48 for cooperating withholes 62 and 64 to receive the bolt part of bolt and nut 60. In thismanner, an adjustable mounting of support 22 on arcuate arm 14 isachieved.

At least one and preferably a plurality of projections, a pair of suchprojections 66 and 68 being illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings, areprovided on pole 12 in that portion thereof to be implanted in ground,and the like. These projections 66 and 68 will help to reinforce cement70, and the like, in which pole 12 is disposed. The ground designated 72in FIG. 1 of the drawings may be considered the ground of a roadsideditch, and the like, while the level of an associated roadway (notshown) would be between this ground 72 and support 22.

As can be readily understood from the above description and from thedrawings, a swing-away stand 10 having an arched arm can be arrangedwith respect to a roadway and associated ditch so as to clear snowbanks, and the like, piled between, and possibly around, pole 12 andsupport 22. In addition, the construction of stand 10 is such that areliable device maybe simply and inexpensively produced.

Alternatively to the orientation of bracket 34 shown in FIG. 1 of thedrawings, the bracket 34 may be oriented from its FIG. 1 position forfacilitating the passing of people under arch 16 while walking on a, forexample, sidewalk 74.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

. What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A mailbox support stand, comprising, in combination:

a. a pole, at least one projection is provided on the pole and arrangedextending therefrom for reinforcing cement in which the pole isdisposed;

b. an arm including an arch terminating in a pair of ends;

0. means for mounting a one end of the arch on the pole for permittingswinging movement of the arch with respect to the pole, the means formounting including a sleeve having an open end and a spaced enclosed endand arranged over the pole open end first, and means for connecting thearch to the sleeve, the means for connecting including a pair ofparallel plates arranged affixed to and extending between the sleeve andarch, the plates having a shape in plan that conforms along one edge tothe shape of the arch and along another edge to the sleeve, and themeans for mounting further including means for biasing the arch toward apredetermined rest position, the means for biasing including a firstbracket cantilever mounted on the sleeve and second and third bracketscantilever mounted on the pole and arranged perpendicular to the firstbracket and extending coaxially from one another in a plane parallel tothe plane of the first bracket, and a pair of coiled tension springs,one spring arranged connected to and extending between free ends of thefirst and second brackets and the other spring connected to and arrangedextending between the free end of the first bracket and a free end ofthe third bracket;

(1. a hollow member forming a socket and affixed to the other end of thearch; and

e. a support connected to the other end of the arch, the supportincluding a planar framework forming a platform, a cover affixed to theframework and having a planar extension arranged extending away from thepole, framework, and arch in a plane parallel to the plane of theframework to extend substantially forwardly of a mailbox to be mountedon said framework for forming a snow guard, and a longitudinal membermounted on the framework and adjustably arranged in the hollow memberfor attaching the framework to the arm.

1. A mailbox support stand, comprising, in combination: a. a pole, atleast one projection is provided on the pole and arranged extendingtherefrom for reinforcing cement in which the pole is disposed; b. anarm including an arch terminating in a pair of ends; c. means formounting a one end of the arch on the pole for permitting swingingmovement of the arch with respect to the pole, the means for mountingincluding a sleeve having an open end and a spaced enclosed end andarranged over the pole open end first, and means for connecting the archto the sleeve, the means for connecting including a pair of parallelplates arranged affixed to and extending between the sleeve and arch,the plates having a shape in plan that conforms along one edge to theshape of the arch and along another edge to the sleeve, and the meansfor mounting further including means for biasing the arch toward apredetermined rest position, the means for biasing including a firstbracket cantilever mounted on the sleeve and second and third bracketscantilever mounted on the pole and arranged perpendicular to the firstbracket and extending coaxially from one another in a plane parallel tothe plane of the first bracket, and a pair of coiled tension springs,one spring arranged connected to and extending between free ends of thefirst and second brackets and the other spring connected to and arrangedextending between the free end of the first bracket and a free end ofthe third bracket; d. a hollow member forming a socket and affixed tothe other end of the arch; and e. a support connected to the other endof the arch, the support including a planar framework forming aplatform, a cover affixed to the framework and having a planar extensionarranged extending away from the pole, framework, and arch in a planeparallel to the plane of the framework to extend substantially forwardlyof a mailbox to be mounted on said framework for forming a snow guard,and a longitudinal member mounted on the framework and adjustablyarranged in the hollow member for attaching the framework to the arm.